[applause] >> clearly they were expecting a dollar holland -- a taller mc. welcome! [applause] did you enjoy the great opening

act? thank you so much for joining us tonight for san francisco's asian pacific heritage celebration. yes. and that is giving u.s. side of things to come, but i want to tell you what about the opening performance that you saw. it was proudly presented by the american center for the philippine arts, and it means a "from the village of." it is alive journey of the man struggling with the responsibility. the untapped and dynamism of the folk dance. it was created by the choreographer and performed by san francisco dance artists jonathan mercado, henry lau,

maritoni madrano and kimberly requesto. give them an opening applause for that act. [applause] as for this group here, we request that you stand for the singing of the national anthem. >> ♪ oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hail at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ ♪ who's broad stripes and bright stars through theh perilous fight o'er the ramparts we watched

were so gallantly streaming? ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say does that star- spangled banner yet wave? ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪

[applause] >> please be seated. and the asian pacific alliance, thank you for that beautiful rendition of the national anthem. the men's chorus was formed in 1989 to provide a showcase for the vocal musical talents for gay asian-pacific men. they also put on the main duty contest. i have judged them, they are a lot of fun. this is the annual asian pacific heritage month association and this year's theme is advancing education. it recognizes the many contributions of the diverse asian and pacific islander communities and their continuing efforts to promote unity,

understanding, and appreciation among communities of color. i want to tell you how this month came about. president jimmy carter signed a resolution declaring one week in the month of may as asian- pacific heritage month. it was expanded to the entire month of may. in 1991. in san francisco, we are showing them how to do it right. right back to you, thank you. i will acknowledge the diplomatic representatives from another of -- a number of countries including china,

indonesia, japan, korea. the philippines, singapore, and vietnam, my people. we are also honored to have with us tonight, mayor ed lee. as a city is a minister, he represented gavin newsom in defending this city's proclamation. and a new chapter in asian pacific american history when he was elected as the city's first asian-american mayor. ladies and gentlemen -- all right, join me in welcoming mayor edwin m. lee. [applause]

you have your own crowded back there. the m. in your middle name stand s for ma. >> thank you all for coming. i'm glad to be here on the eighth time we've celebrated this, and want to give a thank- you for helping us put this on. thank you! and of course, i join here as part of an official city family.

thank you for being here. he is joined by supervisors carmen chu, jane kim, and eric mar. our elected officials, jeff adachi, the public defender, the recorder assessor, hydra mendoza, and emily murase. we're also thankful for the chief of police, thank you. i would like to also acknowledges someone that has been a very special friend of mine, someone that has given me a lot of support and advice over the years. and also someone who has not missed one of these asian pacific heritage month associations, mayor willie brown.

>> this evening, we are celebrating our communities from all over the world. i am so lucky to be the mayor of an international city. we talked a lot about diversity, but we also celebrates in so many ways. it is marvelous to hear the names of all these council generals from all around the world. we also have some invaluable participants that represent the city relations. from osaka, singapore, shanghai, taipei, and seoul, korea. they're working with our offices and communities to promote education, trade, allow ourselves to educate ourselves continuously about the need to

have a more advanced, smarter immigration policy for our country. and also one that we enjoy celebrating because we get a lot of talent from the other countries, which is why we want to be a gateway to the world. that is why we enjoy the celebration so much. with that, i like to invite former mayor willie brown and also the supervisors, please join us on the stage and be part of the witness and of the signing of the proclamation for this year imposed a celebration of the asian pacific heritage month. and supervisor cohen, come on up as well.

[applause]

>> with that, it is official, asian pacific heritage month is on. thank you, mayor li and everyone that came out to help with the signing of the proclamation. they are the cumulative efforts of the asian pacific heritage celebration committee. please welcome the founder and chairman of the heritage celebration committee. you did not get to rest at all, come on back. >> thank you for being here. thank you for joining us. i know it is a little tough

right now, but when you have a chance, look around you and look at the people sitting around you. you can see the diversity of our city. it is very diverse with over 50 ethnic groups, and how we can see the vibrant fabric of our communities, and i will take this opportunity again for thinking the whole of our members and elected officials bringing ideas together. we provide the perfect opportunity for the community to protect the communities, who won the betterment of the community. but we want to connect with everyone.

that is why every year, and a crew of volunteers come together and think about the best way to promote awareness so that everybody knows, it is celebrated as asian-pacific heritage month. the mayor was very generous in thanking me, but it is not about me at all. it is a committee of volunteers meeting since november to make the celebration happened. a one has to thank those that are with us, you are helpful in joining the leadership team. and our co-chair of the committee. i want you to know that i think you from the bottom of my heart.

this year, the team is celebrating heritage. i am so glad that many of you turned out to celebrate individuals and organizations that have dedicated their time and efforts events in opportunities in education. and there is a myth out there that asians are all doing very well in education. but this is really not quite the case. there are many in the immigrant population that really need a hell. and they can use more opportunities that many of us have seen. i want to thank the nominees for this year. thank you for your work.

before moving forward, i would like to invite the former press a -- the president david chiu. last year, david said the landscape in san francisco is different today compared to 15 or 20 years ago when we were wondering who were the next asian pacific americans running for office, getting elected, and appointing the city offices. it is very different. >> do we have asians in the house tonight? thank you for being here. as she